Should Powell River focus its efforts on improving ferries or building roads? That has been the burning question among residents for a while now. Actually, let’s be honest, at this point it might as well be referred to as “the eternal question.”
Discussion on the issue of transportation options is always heated because getting in and out of Powell River is the key to the city’s future. Everything rests on how we get products, services and even ourselves in and out of this locked-land area.
When the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure announced last week they had awarded a $250,000 contract to a Vancouver-based engineering firm to undertake a feasibility study of linking the Lower Mainland to the Sunshine Coast, it was the first step toward what road enthusiasts have been waiting for.
Finally, a road in and out of Powell River is a tangible possibility. However, transportation and infrastructure minister Todd Stone could have a trick up his sleeve. What if the feasibility study is just a way to placate our seemingly endless dissatisfaction with the BC Ferries service to Powell River?
Maybe Stone is teasing us with the idea of a road that bypasses the ferries while we are stuck with insufficient service for another 10 or 20 years. Honestly, how long would an elaborate fixed-road link actually take to build?
Meanwhile, as Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons pointed out, we are still saddled with the current ferry system.
If a road is ever built, how treacherous would the conditions be during the winter months, especially if a link from Powell River to Squamish is chosen, and what tolls will be enforced to make the drive?
The irony would be palpable if some residents chose to take the ferry over driving, purely due to convenience.
Then again, if a fixed-link is built to connect the area to the Lower Mainland, or even the lower Sunshine Coast to Horseshoe Bay, there’s always the chance that BC Ferries would simply do away with those routes, limiting options once again.
Sure, a fixed-link would increase tourism and give residents a way in and out of Powell River, and $250,000 is a tiny amount of provincial tax money to explore the option of a fixed-link transportation option.
However, this isn’t only about whether residents should choose ferries over roads, or vice versa. There’s an even bigger question.
Are we getting played?
-Jason Schreurs, publisher/editor
